Businesses asked to keep supporting PB4L scheme

May 24th, 2012
[by David Armstrong]

The Positive Behaviour initiative running this year among Motueka's primary schools is getting a further jog-along as the schools ask local businesses to continue to reward kids when they see good behaviour in public.

Positive Behaviour For Learning (or PB4L) is a government initiative being rolled out across the country which has been taken up enthusiastically by the Motueka state school cluster this year. (Read our earlier story here.)

The four schools - Motueka South, Lower Moutere, Parklands and Motueka High School - combined to design a good behaviour card scheme to reward young people for their good behaviour in town, reinforcing the respectful behaviour being taught in schools as part of the curriculum.

At the start of the year, schools visited shops, businesses and venues such as the Recreation Centre and the library asking them to take part in the programme. They distributed sets of cards for the businesses' use. The Parklands School team call them either "Caught Being Good" cards or "Gotcha" cards.

It is up to those businesses as to who to give them to and why. The general idea is for business people who notice students engaging in good manners and respectful behaviour to stamp a card and give it to the students.

The recipient can be students from any school. The students then take their cards to their school, and it is up to the school as to how and when a reward is applied. At Parklands School, for example, they can be converted into the school's own fortnightly award system as well as go into a draw for some book prizes.

Andrea Smith, the project's coordinator at Parklands School, says that it got off to a "roaring start" in February, but of late its use has tailed off somewhat, with fewer cards coming back to the school for redemption. So the schools are revisiting businesses to remind them of how the programme is helping to make Motueka a better town to live in.

The High School is also preparing to help out as part of their own present "Attendance Initiative", which PB4L programme coordinator John McFadgen says aims to improve attendance as this is closely correlated with school achievement.

Teachers Scott Haines and Carol Fowler will shortly visit a lot of businesses in the town promoting lunch passes and talking about discouraging high school children being in there without a legitimate reason during the school day. "But we want to also reinforce the community cards at the same time for students doing things well," John says.

Andrea says each school is using PB4L in their own ways to fit in with their curriculum. Parklands has expectations prominently advertised around the schoolgrounds: "To be responsible, respectful and safe" at school and in a broad variety of public settings.

Each week this concentrates on one activity that the children may expect to find themselves - this week it to look at what it means to be responsible, respectful and safe in the school's First Aid room. Other settings that have been the focus include in the public library, in shops, walking down High Street, in a medical centre and so on.

PB4L (and the Good Behaviour Card scheme and associated learning) will remain an on-going part of the school environment, Andrea says. "We aim for it to be part of the culture of the school and our community," she says.

"The kids do love receiving the cards, and some shops are still very much involved in the programme." She says if any businesses find any problems with the scheme, such as children asking for cards, to provide her with feedback at the school.

Linda Beatson, PB4L's coordinator at Motueka South School, says some schools are getting quite a few cards back but others are seeing few.

"Businesses may need a regular prompt to keep using the cards. We are tracking the businesses to thank the best supporters at the end of term," she says.

Motueka South School is also now supplying Community Congratulations Cards to the Motueka Netball Centre to reinforce the good sportsmanship and fair play aspect of positive behaviour, and will happily supply other interested local primary school sports.

"We decided to do this as a 'good sport' incentive at Saturday netball, an ideal opportunity for the Community card," Linda says. "This move also links nicely with our MSS Gotcha cards which are of course given out here at school, as well as by the coaches of our MSS sports teams."

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